


cantilever

by stepanova



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Gen, everyone else goes by their real names, figure skating AU, ships are mainly background, teen for no no words, vivi goes by kahei in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-05-07 19:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19216417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepanova/pseuds/stepanova
Summary: Im Yeojin is a prodigy: a fifteen year old skater coached by her sister. She's the reigning World Junior silver medalist about to go into seniors, and hopes are high for her. However, her sister is afraid that the ambitious Yeojin is going to be too much for her to handle.





	1. one - haseul

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: although i know this is not factual in real life (sadly), same sex pairs/ice dance IS A THING!!
> 
> i'm also not a skater so my skating knowledge might be incorrect at times!! especially when it comes to ice dance!!
> 
> this is set in the 2024-2025 season. the characters' ages are, in order:  
> heejin: 24 (2022 Olympic silver medalist in ladies' singles skating)  
> hyunjin: 23 (2022 Olympic champion in ladies's singles skating)  
> haseul: 25  
> yeojin: 15  
> kahei: 27  
> jungeun: 20  
> jinsol: 21  
> yerim: 17  
> sooyoung: 22  
> jiwoo: 18  
> chaewon: 19  
> hyejoo: 18  
> -  
> the link below is just in case anyone wants to get more in depth about skating lingo or something like that:  
> https://soyouwanttowatchfs.com/post/176829528115/required-elements-protocol-abbreviations  
> this other link below is for other information just in case:  
> https://soyouwanttowatchfs.com/post/170312069530/figure-skating-abcs-glossary-of-common-terms  
> -  
> {IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO KNOW TECHNICAL THINGS TO UNDERSTAND THE FIC} :)

**TEENAGE PRODIGY IM YEOJIN SET TO STAR IN SENIORS**

Jo Haseul smiles reading the article headline and scrolls down on her iPad. She sips her coffee, relieved at the fact that it's only five-thirty and they don't have to go to the rink for thirty minutes. Haseul is already dressed, but Yeojin, her sister (competing under their mother's maiden name for privacy reasons, and it'd also be weird for her to say that her sister coaches her) is still upstairs getting dressed. The two's skate bags are by the door.

_Im Yeojin, most well known as last year's World Junior Championships silver medalist, is a shining star from South Korea. After the respective country's amazing outbreak in figure skating with Kim Hyunjin and Jeon Heejin's famous country rivalry (and gold and silver Olympic medals, respectively), hopes are high for Im Yeojin._

Pictures from Yeojin's short and free programs last year are pictured with flattering captions. One was of Yeojin arching back into a layback spin with the caption:  _"The fifteen-year-old's energetic routine to Witchdoctor by Camo & Krooked impressed everyone."_

Haseul had honestly preferred her short program to Parisian Walkways, but the Witchdoctor dress was a really nice shade of navy blue. It did go super well with the silver medal she wore proudly on the victory podium.

_Last season, Im's personal best score (from the World Junior Championships) was 201.17, a mere three points behind the champion, Elena Barazina (204.21) of Russia and five points ahead of Yumiko Nanahara (196.65) from Japan. Im's score of 66.50 in the short program due to shaky landings and PCS scores put her into fourth place, but her clean free skate earned her 134.67 points to take the silver. Im's personal best short program score is 70.21 from her Junior Grand Prix Bratislava in October. Im placed fourth at the Junior Grand Prix Final in December in Osaka, Japan._

_Videos released from practice and ice shows (South Korea's All That Skate being included) are showing Im practicing difficult jump combinations. Some are illegal in competition (one video showed her landing triple flip-triple loop-triple toe-double toe) but some (triple lutz-triple loop) could be showing up in new competitions._

_Im is scheduled to skate at the ISU Challenger Series Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstorf, Germany, and at Skate America and Rostelecom Cup in the Lake Placid, United States and Moscow, Russia this upcoming season._

_Recommended articles:_

_- AN INSIGHT ON HA SOOYOUNG AND KIM JIWOO'S RELATIONSHIP (AND HOW IT WORKS BOTH ON AND OFF ICE)_

_\- KIM HYUNJIN CLAIMS DESPITE RIVALRY DURING CAREER, COACHING WITH JEON HEEJIN HAS GONE "AWESOMELY"_

_\- KAHEI WONG ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM FIGURE SKATING_

The last article piques Haseul's interest, but Yeojin's loud stomp-running down the stairs distracts her from her article.

"Come on, let's gooooo!" Yeojin says. "You're gonna be the reason we're late, and Yerim'll give you hell. You're supposed to set a good example for us," she teases.

Haseul rolls her eyes. "Fine, but did you eat?"

Yeojin nods. "Yeah, I ate before I got dressed. Come on, the sun will rise before we get there!"

Haseul refrains from rolling her eyes for a second time and instead scoffs endearingly. "Alright, fine." She closes her iPad and picks it up. "Get in the car, don't forget your skate bag," she tells Yeojin, who runs out of the house. Haseul gets up from her seat at the table, picks up her skate bag by the front door, puts her iPad in it, and locks the house shut.

The car ride is silent as usual, with Yeojin madly bobbing her head to whatever song she's listening to, and Haseul driving and thinking. The article's words pop up in her head again.

_Videos released from practice and ice shows...Im practicing difficult jump combinations...triple flip-triple loop-triple toe-double toe...could be showing up in new competitions..._

Haseul is suddenly tense. The videos were almost always posted by Yeojin without her consent and filmed by Yerim, and Haseul worried Yeojin was getting out of her control. Her sister hadn't approached her asking to try the triple axel or, God forbid, quads, but Haseul was afraid it was coming, especially with social media pressure. She wished Yeojin wasn't on her phone as much, and sometimes Haseul felt powerless because she was Yeojin's sister, and Yeojin was always more ambitious than her.

Yeojin and Yerim Choi were Haseul's two main students, although she occasionally taught novices and juniors at the rink as well. They didn't have it all to themselves, no, there were other coaches there, but Yeojin was the best scoring out of the group. That didn't mean Yerim was  _bad_ by any means, she just hadn't flourished in juniors like Yeojin and didn't have the reputation of Yeojin. She had gotten a bronze medal at a JGP once last season, and she considered that her best skating moment so far. She had finished fifth at her other JGP.

Yerim was happy and positive, and the most lighthearted and carefree skater Haseul had met. Her programs last season were to notably lighter themes, her short being to "One Summer's Day" from _Spirited Away_ and her free to "Charms" from  _W.E._ as opposed to Yeojin's dramatic songs. Yerim and Haseul had decided to move the former up to seniors (conveniently the same season as Yeojin's moving up), the reason being she wasn't learning anything new from her competitors that she hadn't learned already.

Yerim and Yeojin didn't share any Grand Prix assignments, Yerim's being Skate Canada. The three all hoped that someone would withdraw, hopefully giving Yerim another possible slot (especially if she performed well early season) but it seemed most probable that Yerim would only go to Skate Canada. Haseul wondered if Kahei Wong's retirement would cause Yerim to get another assignment. She knew Yerim did have the drive to compete, however, despite the girl's fluffy and positive personality.

Haseul parks outside the rink and Yeojin runs in, seeing Yerim in the lobby. Haseul follows shortly after. Yerim is already in her skates, her skate guards making an ugly clacking noise as she walks on the concrete.

"You're late." Yerim comments, not unkindly. "So I went to get Starbucks."

"Cool. Eat that all before it's too late," Haseul comments, addressing Yerim's croissant in her right hand. "And I better see zero hot chocolate on the ice."

Yerim nods and drinks her hot chocolate like she's a YouTuber trying to become famous off of a fast drinking challenge.

-

Yeojin and Haseul head over to the locker room to put on and lace their skates. Yeojin is still silent, still bobbing her head to her music. The two finish lacing up their skates and walk over to the rink itself.

A few of the other coaches are there, and some young novices and juniors are skating. Yerim is skating laps around the rink to warm up, and Haseul sends Yeojin to catch up to her and skate with her. She then sits down on the bleachers and pulls out her iPad, propping it on her knees. She goes to her Google Docs app and opens up the '2024-2025 SEASON NEW PROGRAM IDEAS' and looks at it.

There are two main sections on the document, one for Yeojin and one for Yerim. Her other novices and juniors who she co-coaches with the other rink members are below, and their programs are all created by their main coaches and choreographers. The rink all had one choreographer, Lee Hansol, who was Haseul's childhood friend. She remembered fondly that the two had tried to do pairs together when they were young, but it had failed and they had decided to stay in singles. Hansol had never had a successful career, but he was a pretty okay choreographer and a good support system. He was always very busy, though, so he and Haseul never really talked anymore. Haseul was fine with that.

Haseul looks up and gestures for Yerim and Yeojin to come to the boards.

"What's up?" Yeojin asks casually.

"We should work on programs for next season, no? We have the basic layout gist, and now we just need to time it to the music, right? Yeojin, we'll start with you first. What kind of music do you want to skate to this season? Do you want to stay dramatic, or do you want to try a new concept-"

"I wanna skate to Phantom of the Opera." Yeojin says with a huge smile on her face.

Haseul tries not to cringe. She knows Phantom of the Opera would hardly fit Yeojin, but she forces a smile. "What pieces?"

"The one by Lindsey Stirling."

Haseul's eyebrows raise. "Oh..!" She purses her lips. That might fit Yeojin better than the traditional Phantom of the Opera, but she's still not very sure. "Are you sure? POTO is really overused." she says. "Don't you want originality?"

Yeojin shrugs. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." she says.

Haseul disagrees that it 'ain't broke' but she slowly nods. "Uh...alright. I'll think about it." She writes 'POTO? Lindsey Stirling' under the Yeojin section. "I think Fantaisie Impromptu could work for you, Yeojin."

Yeojin shrugs. "Eh, that's kind of boring." Haseul disagrees again but she nods, it being more clipped. She then turns to Yerim, the happy purple-haired girl just waiting to say her ideas.

"I wanna skate to Reverie."

"Debussy?"

"Yeah!"

Haseul thinks about it, and she smiles inside, because Yerim is so easy to work with, and flexible. "Alright. I'll see what Hansol can do about that. I like that suggestion a lot, Yerim. It'd fit as a short program better, if that's alright."

Yerim nods, the happy bubbly person she is. "What do you think for my free?"

Haseul is elated, because she's had Yerim's free planned for days. "So, I know we usually do light, more cheerful pieces for your programs, but we also don't want to be stale, you know?"

Yerim nods. 

"Do you have your phone with you?"

Yerim hands her phone over the boards to Haseul. "My AirPods are connected to it."

Haseul goes to Yerim's Spotify and types in "Black Flies" by Ben Howard on there. "See if you like this." She turns back to Yeojin. "Anyway, what other ideas do you have?"

"Billie Eilish." Yeojin says. "Or Old Town Road."

"...No."

"Oh, come on! Why not?"

"Because that's the type of stuff you'd do for exhibitions, Yeojin! Take this seriously, please?"

Yeojin sighs. "Fiiiiine. Assassin's Tango."

Haseul thinks about it, looking up, a pensive expression on her face. "That...could actually work."

"Really?"

"Yeah." she says. "I'll talk to Hansol about it."

"Epic." Yeojin says. "I'm gonna go practice my jumps, bye!"

She skates off despite Haseul's protests and calls to wait for Yerim.

"I like it," Yerim says. "Let's go with that. You gonna send that to Hansol?"

Haseul shakes her head with a smile. "This'll be a secret between you and me, but I've had a program choreographed to that for two weeks. Do you want to see the layout?"

Yerim nods excitedly, and Haseul pulls up a Google drawing of the layout. "So you'll start off with double axel, then flying sit spin. You've got nice flying spins, Yerim. Then solo triple lutz. Then flying change foot combination spin. That one might be hard, but I think it could work. It's just your spin from last year but with a different entrance. We'll go back to the original if it doesn't look good in practice. This is just for a good base value. And we're going to go with your last jump being the combo. I know you usually do triple loop-double loop for your combo, but I think since you're going into seniors, it's time for triple-triple."

Yerim nods. "I've done it in practice. I know I can do it."

Haseul smiles. "That's the spirit. You'll then do step sequence, which Hansol will help me with, and finally your layback spin. Is that cool?"

"Cool? Are you kidding me? That's great!" Yerim says.

Haseul closes her iPad and puts it back in her bag under the bleachers. "Awesome. We'll work on getting it more refined in the future, but this is a start."

Yerim nods and skates off with more pep than Haseul thought she could have.

-

"HOLY SHIT!"

Haseul hears Yeojin's voice echo across the rink, and she's skating over to Yerim. The little kids are staring at her, shocked, and Haseul stands up and takes off her skate guards. She skates over to the other coaches, who look very impressed.

"What happened?" she asks one of the coaches, Irene.

"Yeojin just did a clean quad toeloop." Irene says.

"What?!" Haseul exclaims. "I-I never-"

"You've got yourself a talented one, Haseul. But a wild one." Irene says, and turns around to guide one of the novices on a flying camel spin.

Haseul skates over to Yeojin as fast as she can. "Im Yeojin!" she exclaims. Yeojin turns around with the brightest smile on her face.

"Didya see it, Seulie?! I did a quad!"

"I  _never_ said you could do that!" Haseul hisses. "You could have gotten seriously injured, Yeojin! What were you _thinking_?"

"I-I thought you'd be impressed..." Yeojin trails off.

"You're only fifteen, Yeojin! Quads could seriously damage your body!"

"Not if you teach them correctly to me!" Yeojin exclaims. "Anyway, I'm an early bloomer! I always was! It's not like I'm going to get any taller!"

"You don't know that!"

With that, Yerim awkwardly skates off and Haseul sees her practicing the flying change foot combination spin she had instructed Yerim to do.

"I don't want you doing quads." Haseul says firmly.

"Elena Barazina did quads! If I had done them too, I would have won!" Yeojin argues.

"Elena Barazina did one quad and fell on it, Yeojin! It was downgraded!"

"Fine! I won't do quads because you're so scared of them." Yeojin spits, and skates off angrily. Haseul sighs and rubs her forehead with her hand. She skates over to Yerim, trying her best to ignore her sister's antics. "So, how's it going with your spin?"

-

**Two months later**

"Next to skate, representing the Republic of Korea, Yeojin Im."

"You got this," Haseul says, patting her sister on the shoulder. Yeojin smiles back at her and skates off to the center, skating around it a little before getting in her starting position.

The two had finally reached a mutual agreement on the short program: Haseul conceded and let it be Phantom of the Opera, but not the Lindsey Stirling dubstep violin version. Hansol had done a nice music cut with music from the original Broadway cast recording, and it was fine. Yeojin hadn't tried any more quads in practice, although a couple of times she had done a triple axel, and Haseul planned on telling her they could work on it during the upcoming offseason. She knew Yeojin wasn't a little girl anymore.

The music starts, and Haseul watches, fear in her eyes, as Yeojin pivots out. She repeats the layout to herself in her head multiple times. Double axel. Triple flip. Flying camel spin. Step sequence. Triple lutz, triple toeloop. Change foot combination spin. Layback spin.

She watches Yeojin skate and crosses her own fingers for her first jump. Yeojin had a consistent double axel, so Haseul wasn't super worried.

But something looked off about the jump. It was bigger, faster, and more powerful.

The crowd cheered loudly, and Haseul's eyes widened.

Yeojin had just done a triple axel, without her permission, in the short program of her first competition.

_Holy shit._ Haseul thinks, and she comes to a bone-crushing realization.

The rest of Yeojin's program goes perfectly, annoyingly clean, and it's over before Haseul even realizes it. The crowd goes wild, and Haseul knows that that score will stay in first for a while.

"What were you  _thinking_?!" she hisses at Yeojin, who shrugs with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"It was clean, wasn't it?"

"You could have gotten-"

"-seriously hurt?" Yeojin finishes her sentence.

"Where do you learn these things?!" Haseul exclaims as they sit in the kiss-and-cry. She forces a happy expression on her face and hopes none of the viewers can either hear them or understand Korean.

"The Internet," Yeojin says casually.

"My God." she says, in English. "Wow, Yeojin. You're a force to be reckoned with." she says, back to Korean.

"Yeah, I know." Yeojin replies smugly.

The two watch the slow-motion replay on the screen and Haseul shakes her head seeing the triple axel. The technique isn't terrible, and she realizes that Yeojin had been planning to do that jump all along, without telling her. Haseul frowns. The lutz edge could have been deeper, but it's obviously somewhat outside. Otherwise, the program was performed well, and Haseul grimaces, afraid of the score.

"The scores, please." the announcer says in English, after she says something in German. She then says something else in German, and Haseul's eyes widen once the score pops up on the screen.

"Yeojin Im, has earned, in the short program, 77.08 points. She is currently in first place!"

The crowd cheers and Yeojin pumps her fists in happiness, and Haseul pats her on the back, the same realization from before dawning on her.

"We're talking after the competition." she tells her sister, who nods, oddly solemn.

-

After the short program, Yeojin is still in first by five points. Yerim is in a solid fourth with a 69.77, her personal best. Haseul is proud that her girls have both achieved personal bests in their short, although she was really surprised in the program component score difference. Haseul had realized that Yerim did have better skating skills and a more complete program, whereas Yeojin was a technical powerhouse but lacked in the program component department. However, she was not expecting for Yerim to get 9s in PCS. She was pleasantly surprised, however.

The free skate goes impossibly smoothly, and Yeojin doesn't try a triple axel again. She wins by a lot, although her PCS is hardly the highest in the group and is slightly more than twenty points less than her technical score. Yerim climbs from fourth to second after the girl who placed third in the short program has a disastrous free skate, and the girl who placed second falls twice and ends up in third. 

Yerim's purple hair shines on the podium and she is the happiest there by far. It's only a Challenger Series event, hardly pivotal, but Yerim acts like she just won the Olympics.

Yerim elects to watch the ice dance free dance the next day, leaving Yeojin and Haseul alone. They sit in the hotel room together, mindlessly watching German television.

"I think it's time we had that talk I mentioned after the short." Haseul says.

"What is it?" Yeojin asks.

Haseul turns her head and looks at Yeojin, who looks slightly confused.

"I can't coach you anymore."


	2. two - yerim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yerim adjusts to being Haseul's only senior student and the only senior in their skating club.

**TEEN PRODIGY IM YEOJIN LEAVES COACH SUDDENLY AFTER CS NEBELHORN**

Yerim grimaces reading the headline, but continues to scroll down on her phone.

_Last year's World Junior silver medalist and this year's CS Nebelhorn champion, Im Yeojin, has announced a split with her coach three weeks before her Grand Prix debut at Skate America. The skater's Instagram post states that the split was on good terms and that she would still be seeing her coach/sister frequently. Im announced in the same post that she would be keeping her programs for this season but may be making small edits to them if needed. She also stated that she and her coach (Jo Haseul [left], pictured with Im [right] below) had different visions of the future and that is what prompted the split._

_Fans have speculated on Twitter that a possible reason for the split is Im's unprecedented triple axel in the short program at CS Nebelhorn._

_"Tweet from: @barazinas on Twitter"_

_'yall look at this clip from the k &c at cs nebelhorn haseul looks PISSED at yeojin i bet yeojin went yeolo'_

_In her Instagram post, Im announced that she will be moving skating clubs from the Seoul Ice Angels FSC to Shinhwa SC, and that her new coaches will be Jeon Heejin and Kim Hyunjin._

_Jeon and Kim were famed rivals during their time as skaters, and ended up being the silver and gold respective medalists at the 2022 Olympics. Both have since retired in order to pursue coaching, and Im will be their first senior student. Jeon posted on her Twitter that she is 'very excited' to coach Im._

_"Tweet from: @jeonhj on Twitter"_

_'Hyunjin and I are very excited to coach Yeojin. We look forward to having her on our team!"_

_Jo Haseul, Im's old coach, is also the coach of the silver medalist at CS Nebelhorn, Choi Yerim. Choi's career in juniors peaked at a bronze medal during JGP Canada, but stronger technical content is making her career in seniors seem promising._

_Im's Instagram post is linked below._

_Both Jo and Im were unavailable for comment._

Yerim turns off her phone and looks up at the sound of the bells of the cafe door ringing. Haseul enters and makes a beeline for Yerim's table.

"Hi," Yerim greets. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright," Haseul replies.

"I know it's been hard for you," Yerim says. She truly feels sorry for Haseul. She wonders what's been going on in her coach's mind since the split, especially knowing Yeojin's her sister. Yerim just wants the best for everybody, and although she would never tell Haseul this, Yeojin's moving coaches was what was best for her. Yerim knew her friend was ambitious, more ambitious than Haseul would like.

Haseul shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. We still talk and stuff. She's still in Seoul. We still live together, obviously. It's just been weird."

"Weird how so?"

"Just...weird. Stiff and silent. I'm still kind of shook that I won't be going to Russia with her anymore. And..." Haseul trails off.

"That you're going to Skate America with me, too?" Yerim finishes her sentence.

Haseul nods. "Yeah. Shit, I'm sorry." she says. "I don't mean to dump on you."

"No, it's okay." Yerim says. She smiles at her coach. "I know it'll be weird seeing her in the kiss and cry and stuff. And at the gala."

"Oh my God, the gala!" Haseul gasps. "Do you want an exhibition?"

"I can just use one of my old programs," Yerim says, trying to make it easier for her coach. "Really, don't worry about it."

Haseul shakes her head. "No. Do you want an exhibition? Be honest."

Yerim nods with the tiniest smile on her face.

"What song?"

"You'll be embarrassed, but-"

"What song?"

Yerim looks down at the table and blushes. "Act My Age by One Direction..."

Haseul smiles, but it's not in a mocking way at all. "The song that was in that super viral video of the three people dancing in, like, 2018?"

"Yeah...?"

"Let's do it." Haseul says.

Yerim lights up like it's Christmas. "Really?"

"Hell fucking yeah," Haseul says. "Let's do it."

"But...Haseul..." Yerim interjects.

"What's up?"

Yerim blushes again. "I don't think Hansol would do a good job of choreographing it."

Haseul nods and laughs. "Yeah, I don't think so either." She thinks about it for a little and gasps. "I might be able to pull something."

"Tell me."

Yerim watches her coach grow more excited. "Which skater who recently retired always had the best exhibition programs and choreographed them all herself?"

"You mean..."

Haseul nods and Yerim feels excitement bubble in her stomach.

"You're gonna try and get  _Kahei freaking Wong_ to choreograph my exhibition program to One Direction?!"

She says this a little too loudly and the other patrons of the cafe turn and look at the excited purple-haired teenager with confusion on their faces.

"Yeah." Haseul says, and sticks her palm out for a high-five.

Yerim slaps her hand with a large smack.

-

The next morning, Haseul is driving Yerim home from gym training.

"So...I did get a response." she says cryptically.

"Seriously?!" Yerim exclaims, her head whipping around, purple hair flying.

Haseul smiles smugly. "She'll be in Seoul next week."

"Holy crap!" Yerim shouts. "Seriously?! Oh my God! You're the best! Thank you thank you thank you!!"

Haseul laughs. "It's seriously nothing. Kahei and I had some competitions together back in the day."

"Wow." Yerim says. She then says pensively, "You know, you never really told me much about your actual skating career."

"There's not much to tell," Haseul says. "I was never really that good. Never really medaled at anything. Never made it to any major competitions. Hell, I never medaled during championships. I went to one Youth Winter Olympics and ended up in fourth. That was my peak. So I started coaching. My goal was to get others to have better skating careers than I did."

She smiles at Yerim. "And look what I've gotten. You've improved so much. One month before your competitive debut, I asked you to add a whole new rotation to your jump combo and execute it in competition. That's fucking crazy, Yerim. And you did it, and performed it like you'd been performing it for years. It's amazing. You're so talented."

Yerim blushes. "Stop it. I feel weird."

Haseul laughs again, and it's as if Yeojin never left. "You don't need to feel weird, Yerim. You'll get used to compliments."

Yerim then laughs heartedly.

-

"I'm Kahei Wong. It's lovely to meet you."

Yerim stares in shock at the woman standing in front of her, casually holding out a hand.

"I-hi." she says, and shakes the older woman's hand. "I'm Choi Yerim."

"So I've heard that you want me to choreograph your program?"

"Uh, it was Seul's idea." Yerim says, still at a loss for words. She gestures wildly over to Haseul, who waves awkwardly.

"Jo Haseul!" Kahei exclaims. Her smile, which before was polite yet slightly guarded, is warm now and full of fondness.

"Hello, Kahei. Long time, no see." Haseul says, hands in her vest pockets. "I, uh, like your hair." She has a funny expression on her face, one Yerim can't really read.

Kahei smiles back. "It's a change from the pink, isn't it?" she says lightly.

"You had pink hair?" Yerim blurts out.

"For a while," Kahei admits. "I like the purple." she says. "It's super vibrant."

"Uh, thanks!"

Kahei nods at Haseul. "Shall we go to the ice, then?"

"That sounds great," Haseul replies, and her voice is small. Yerim will have to ask her about that later.

Yerim follows them onto the ice and they skate and stretch for a little bit, before Kahei gestures toward the music booth. "I've worked on something, so could one of you turn on the song and watch my basic choreography? Take notes or whatever works best for you, then we can discuss afterward."

Yerim goes into the music box and waits for Kahei to give her the thumbs up to start the music. Kahei skates to the center of the ice and poses, before giving Yerim a thumbs up. Yerim presses play on the song and watches.

The first thing Yerim notices is that when Kahei performs, she really performs. It's as if she's a whole different person, and this Kahei is upbeat and open, a total performer. Yerim understands why her exhibitions were always widely acclaimed. They weren't empty, nor were they too full and confusing. They were a perfect blend. And Kahei's managed to make this one as fun and upbeat as the song, an exhibition to make the people clap along.

When the song finishes and Kahei's struck her final pose with a bright smile on her face, Yerim claps loudly. "Wow!" she exclaims. "That was amazing!"

"It was just a rough draft," Kahei claims. Yerim rolls her eyes. "That rough draft would be better than anything final draft I'd ever choreograph," she argues. "That's amazing!"

Kahei blushes. "Wanna get started on learning it?"

"Yeah!"

Kahei takes Yerim to center ice, and they start learning what Yerim hopes will be the most iconic exhibition program of the season.


	3. three - yeojin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Skate America, Yeojin reunites with Yerim and Haseul as skaters for the first time.

**TEEN PRODIGY IM YEOJIN FAVORED TO WIN SKATE AMERICA**

Yeojin smiles to herself listening to Hyunjin read the article out loud in their hotel room.

_The champion of the CS Nebelhorn Trophy, Im Yeojin, is favored to do well at Skate America, if not win. Her main competition seems to be American Jackie Seferian and Russian Maria Dmitrieva, as well as fellow South Korean Choi Yerim, who was originally not favored to do as well as Im, but performances at the CS Nebelhorn have changed that._

_Im changed coaches a little less than a month prior to Skate America from Jo Haseul (the coach of Choi) to Jeon Heejin and Kim Hyunjin. Since the change, Im has posted videos of her on Instagram doing both the quad toeloop and the triple axel. Planned program content says she plans on including the triple axel as the first jumping pass both her short program and long program._

"Ooooooh!" Heejin exclaims jokingly. "Triple axellll!"

Yeojin laughs.

Hyunjin snickers. "I'm done with this article." she says. "It's just speculating drama between you and your sister. Ooh, never mind. There are predictions, do you want me to read them?"

"Sure." Yeojin answers.

_Our predicted outcome:_

_1\. Maria Dmitrieva, RUS_

_Dmitrieva has been a consistent performer with high technical content for a while. Her programs include the difficult triple lutz-triple loop combination, and her consistency may overtake the ambition of others._

_2\. Im Yeojin, KOR_

_Obviously a very ambitious skater, Im isn't as consistent as Dmitrieva. She's adding new, more difficult technical content to her arsenal, but if she happens to fall on one of those difficult triple axels, that could be very bad for her scores. However, if she lands them cleanly and well done, Dmitrieva should be worried._

_3\. Jackie Seferian, USA_

_Seferian is consistent as well, although she doesn't have as high technical content as Dmitrieva or Im. However, it seems as if she is going to have higher program component scores than Dmitrieva and Im, being renowned for her artistic skating._

_4\. Choi Yerim, KOR_

_Unlike her former training mate, Choi doesn't seem to have either the technical content or the ambition. However, her PCS is notably higher than both Dmitrieva and Im, but definitely lower than Seferian. However, she could surprise us all._

Yeojin didn't like how the article dumped on Yerim, but she didn't bring that up to her new coaches. Instead she smiled at them and said, "I'm going to prove them wrong."

-

"First to skate, representing the Russian Federation, Betina Smirnova."

Yeojin waits and listens. She's third to skate in the first group, and Yerim isn't even in the first group. Somehow, she ended up slotted in the second group, however, she was first to skate in the second group.

The first girl ends up falling on the first jump in her combination, so Yeojin knows she won't be a competitor in the future. This girl also isn't coached by anyone super special, so it was most likely she wouldn't perform super well. She didn't like how that was a thing, but it sadly was a thing. Yeojin shakes her head. She's not supposed to focus on her competitors.

She turns around and grabs her water bottle, drinking some water to calm herself down. She doesn't know any of these people. She doesn't need to know any of them. Yerim doesn't matter. All that matters is Yeojin's performance, and jumping clean.

"Hey, are you good?" Heejin asks, coming up from behind her. "Don't worry. It's your first major competition as a senior, you have every right to be nervous. But don't focus on the bad things. You'll do great, I know it. _We_ know it." she says, patting Yeojin gently on the back.

"Yeah, you'll kick ass," Hyunjin adds unhelpfully.

"Thanks." Yeojin says sarcastically to her younger but taller coach.

The next skater's routine goes by super fast and then it's Yeojin's turn. She, Heejin, and Hyunjin stand at the boards, and Hyunjin gives her a high five.

"Go get em." she says encouragingly.

Yeojin nods and smiles.

"Next to skate, representing the Republic of Korea, Yeojin Im."

Yeojin skates out and waves to the crowd, circling around the large company logo in the middle of the ice before getting into her middle pose.

The first few notes of "Music of the Night" play, and then Yeojin's off.

She's not the type of skater to focus on the music, no, she just works through muscle memory and each practiced movement she does on the ice, each planned thing, not breaking character.

And it is already too soon when it is time for her to do the triple axel, but Yeojin takes a breath, lifts up her foot, and then plants it down on the ice for her to launch up and forward.

One, two, three and a half rotations later, she's back on the ground, kicking her free leg up dramatically. She skates out of it, transitioning down the ice for her triple flip, making sure her edge is only slightly inside, but not flat. She then stabs her toepick into the ice and brings her arm up above her head for a tano position.

Her dress floats freely behind her as she skates, and then she jumps up and over onto her other foot, spinning around, leg extended, arms T-posing, before she brings her legs and arms in to make a donut position.

Once the spin ends, the music transitions into the dramatic piano introduction of "Phantom of the Opera". Yeojin, with a flourish of her arms, swings around, pivoting into her step sequence. She focuses carefully on each turn, making sure her edges aren't too deep so she doesn't fall, spinning into a twizzle, out of it with a spread eagle, making her way around the ice in a complicated pattern only she, Hansol, and Haseul can decipher.

Haseul. No. Yeojin must not think of her sister that she knows is watching her.

Instead, with a dramatic turn, she glides backwards, pushing her boot into an outside edge before the toepick stabs the ice again, and she's up into the lutz, down back again, and up into the toeloop, hands above her head. The landing is slightly rough, and ice sprays, but there is nothing Yeojin can do to fix that now. Instead she glides, pulling her leg up behind her head and grabbing it with her hand, before dropping it and turning into her layback spin. Her ponytail flies behind her as she spins and pulls her leg up behind her, slowly into the haircutter position, making sure she doesn't  _actually_ cut her hair. Then Yeojin spins more and brings her leg up higher, above her head, and tilts her head backward. She can almost see her own skate.

Then it's over as quickly as it started, with a drop of the leg, an unravel of the spin, if you will, and then Yeojin throws her arms up dramatically, crafting an anguished expression as fast as she can, before dropping them down as dramatically as before. Then it's over, and the crowd cheers. Yeojin spins around, waving and bowing with a smile on her face, and she sees Haseul.

She's frozen, and Haseul meets her eyes, and Yeojin's eyes widen. She's afraid of how Haseul will react.

Haseul looks caught off guard, her eyes slightly widened as well. She then resolves back to her regular, stoic expression, the one she learned to adopt as a coach and as a skater who faced constant disappointment, and then nods at Yeojin, the ghost of a smile on her face. Yeojin smiles back as best as she can, and then skates off towards Heejin and Hyunjin, picking up stuffed animals and a couple of yellow roses off the ice.

"Good job!" Heejin exclaims, rubbing the top of Yeojin's head.

"Ahh, stop it!" Yeojin complains. "You'll mess up my hair." She takes her skate guards out of Heejin's outstretched hand and puts them on the blades of her skates.

"Oh, pooh you." Heejin responds jokingly. 

Hyunjin, the more competitive one, says, "The toeloop landing could have been better, but we'll work on that."

"Hey, lighten up." Heejin gripes as they walk towards the little section for the kiss-and-cry. "It's her first major senior competition. And she did great, she did the axel and everything, it was great. You should feel proud of yourself!" she exclaims as they sit down.

Hyunjin allows a smile to grace her pretty face. Yeojin gives her a shit-eating grin, and Hyunjin rolls her eyes, but the smile doesn't disappear.

They watch the screen, Heejin beaming the whole time, and shrugging at the rough toeloop landing.

"Room to improve on that," Hyunjin murmurs, and Heejin scoffs, but in a joking way.

"Oh please," Heejin teases. "Don't harass her on that."

Then the replay ends and the screen shows them, and Yeojin looks in the camera in front of her.

"Hi everyone!" she says. "Hi Mom, hi Dad, hi Seulie, hi Yerim, wherever you are." she jokes, and then throws up the k-pop finger hearts for jokes.

"Oh my God," Hyunjin groans. "Stop, you're giving me secondhand embarrassment." Heejin and Yeojin laugh in response.

"The scores, please," the announcer booms, and then the joking manner of the three is lost. Heejin still radiates happiness and pride, but Hyunjin is all serious. Yeojin looks up, waiting for the score to pop up.

"Yeojin Im, has earned, in the short program, 75.41 points. This puts her into first place!"

"Not bad," Hyunjin offers.

"That's great!" Heejin says. "Look at your TES!"

"We'll work on your PCS." Hyunjin says, all business.

"You should be proud of yourself," Heejin says, and they get up and leave the kiss and cry and head to the back, waiting.

"I want to watch Yerim." Yeojin says.

"Okay." Heejin responds. "That's okay."

Hyunjin responds only with a nod.

-

Skaters pass by, and none of them have gotten scores close to Yeojin's. Then, the second warmup group goes onto the ice, and Yeojin sees Yerim's bright purple hair up in a tightly woven bun. She wears a different dress than from CS Nebelhorn. The one at the first competition was light pink and sparkly, but this one is a pale shade of mint green and flowing like a princess's dress. It's adorned with rhinestones and white lace around the bodice, and gives the purple-haired Yerim the look of an elf or a faery. It's beautiful, and Yeojin remembering the music, she knows it fits the music perfectly.

Yerim's warmup is shaky, and she pops some jumps into doubles and singles, but she doesn't fall on any like Maria Dmitrieva falls on her triple lutz, a fall that makes the audience wince and Yeojin cringe. In fact, Yerim doesn't fall at all.

But all of that changes when Yerim actually skates her program.

It's basically perfect, and despite Yeojin's technical monstrosity of a program, Yerim's is beautiful and artistic and captivating. She is, essentially, an angel on ice. It's only her first performance in a major senior competition, but one would never guess that from this performance.

Yeojin is suddenly worried, and she regrets saying she wanted to watch Yerim. She sits in the chair, staring at the screen, numb.

The jumps are amazing. Yeojin can tell that Yerim and Haseul have been paying extra special attention to them. They're not underrotated like before, no, they're perfect.

When it ends, Yerim has a beautiful smile on her face, and the crowd cheers louder for her than they did for Yeojin, and Yeojin squeezes her hands in a fist. She doesn't look at Heejin and Hyunjin. She tears her face from the screen, not wanting to see Haseul in the kiss and cry. She only listens.

She hears a faint "Hi, Yeojin!" from Yerim, and that only causes her to shake her head.

And then the fateful announcement rips its way through the arena.

"Yerim Choi has earned, in the short program, 76.04 points. She is currently in first place!"

Yeojin's heart sinks in her chest.

When Yerim comes backstage, all happy and bubbles, Yeojin doesn't talk to her, instead sitting in the second-place chair and stoically watching the other skaters go by, not even matching up to her.

Maria Dmitrieva has the worst skate of her life, with a fall on both her combination jump and her double axel.

Jackie Seferian tries, but she can't match up to Yeojin's technical content, and earns merely a 71.86, putting her into third. And then the short program is over.

And Yeojin's opinion of Yerim as a skater completely changes.


	4. four - haseul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haseul takes Skate America as a teaching moment and prepares Yerim for her next Grand Prix assignment.

**TEEN PRODIGY IM YEOJIN NARROWLY TAKES SKATE AMERICA TITLE AHEAD OF FORMER TRAININGMATE**

_Although the fifteen-year-old skater was favored to place second, she manages to take the Skate America title in the free skate._

_In the short program, Im had a rough landing on her combination, despite landing a clean triple axel, and finished in second after the short program, behind former training mate Choi Yerim. Choi's brilliant skates in both the short and the free were shocking, even though she was not predicted to podium in this competition. Choi ended up in first after the short program, almost a whole point ahead of Im. However, Im's triple axel in the free program bested Choi's attempts, and she ended up taking the title, despite Choi receiving higher program component scores and higher grades of execution on her step and choreo sequences and spins. Im's technical powerhouse of a free program, set to "Assassins' Tango" by John Powell from the film_ Mr. and Mrs. Smith,  _took the cake. Choi's free program, set to indie song "Black Flies" by Ben Howard, earned seven points less than Im's program, and she finished the competition in second place._

_Im is slotted to skate next at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Russia, from November 22 to 24. Choi is set to perform at the Cup of China in Beijing one week before._

_So far, if the Grand Prix season ended today, your competitors would be, with their total point scores:_

_24: BRADLEY, Miranda [CAN] {2nd, Internationaux de France & 3rd, Skate Canada International}_

_15: JUNG, Jinsol [KOR] {1st, Internationaux de France}, IM, Yeojin [KOR] {1st, Skate America}, NAKAGAWA, Nana [JPN] {1st, Skate Canada International}_

_13: CHOI, Yerim [KOR] {2nd, Skate America}, KIM, Jungeun [KOR] {2nd, Skate Canada International}_

_However, there are still three more events to go before the Grand Prix Final in Zagreb, Croatia, and many more skates to come._

_Recommended articles:_

_\- PARK CHAEWON/SON HYEJOO [KOR] ARE FIRST PAIRS COUPLE TO QUALIFY FOR GRAND PRIX FINAL_

_\- KIM JIWOO FLASHES FANCY ENGAGEMENT RING ON INSTAGRAM STORY_

_\- NOW-RETIRED KAHEI WONG'S NEW CHOREOGRAPHED EXHIBITION PROGRAM FOR CHOI YERIM CAUSES THE CROWD TO GO WILD_

Haseul's phone buzzes.

It's a Twitter DM from none other than Kahei Wong. Her eyes widen and her heart jumps up to her throat seeing it. Cautiously, she swipes open the notification and reads the message.

_Kahei: Tell Yerim congratulations on her second place at SKAM! I watched it all, she did amazing :) and that EX from her is pretty good if I say so myself ;)_

Haseul chokes on her coffee. Did Kahei  _really_ send her a fucking winking emoji? After coughing, Haseul responds carefully.

_Haseul: Thanks, I will! :) Her EX program is amazing! You're such a wonderful choreographer :D_

_Kahei: haha, I try. But it's the skater that makes the program so amazing! Yerim has such a personality on ice._

_Haseul: Off ice too, trust me_

_Kahei: LOL_

_Kahei: Well, if you ever need me to choreograph something, just shoot me a DM <3_

Haseul ignores the heart emoji, despite the butterflies in her stomach, and responds, thinking of something reckless just to continue the conversation.

_Haseul: ........_

_Haseul: Actually..._

_Kahei: ?_

_Haseul: I actually want to start an ice show over the summer._

_Kahei: Ooooh, tell me about it!_

_Haseul: Well, seeing all the amazing talent from Korean skaters has inspired me! I want to make an ice show consisting of amazing Korean skaters. What do you think?_

_Kahei: I like the idea, but why are you asking me about it? I'm not Korean_

_Haseul: But you're an amazing choreographer! Could you help with it? It's just an idea, and I've yet to actually invite people to it, but I feel like it'd be a great idea!_

_Kahei: No no no I love the idea! Hmm, I'll think about it. It sounds like a great show! I'll hit you back later after I've thought about it, okay?_

_Haseul: Awesome. <3_

She feels a spike of daring adding the heart emoji at the end of the message, but she needs to be daring sometimes, doesn't she?

"Haseul!"

Haseul turns her phone off and looks over in the direction of the voice, and sees Yeojin.

"Hey." she responds.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Ha Sooyoung and Kim Jiwoo got engaged!" Yeojin exclaims.

"That ice dance couple? The one that won Four Continents?"

"Yeah!" Yeojin replies. Haseul notices that her sister tries to be as casual as possible, but the girl's voice is still tense-sounding. The dynamic between the two has changed, as much as they try to fake it.

"That's adorable." Haseul comments.

"Jiwoo got a big ass diamond, too." Yeojin says. "I want a big ass diamond when I get engaged."

"Yeojin, you're fifteen." Haseul replies tiredly.

"Yeah, but still."

Haseul yawns. "I'm going to bed, okay?" she says, her voice coming out a tad firmer than she'd want.

"Oh. Okay." Yeojin replies, slightly startled. "Um, good night."

"Night." Haseul says, nodding at her sister. She goes upstairs and to her bedroom and promptly falls asleep.

-

It was one week before Yerim's second Grand Prix event, and this practice was not going very well.

Haseul was trying to get Yerim to try triple flip-triple loop, but it just wasn't working. The loop would always end up being underrotated if not fallen on, and Yerim was growing increasingly frustrated.

"Why are we even bothering?" she complains as Haseul directs her to take a break. "Loop-loop is fine."

"Flip-loop has higher base value," Haseul replies calmly. "If we want you to compete with Yeojin and skaters with more competitive arsenals-"

"Why do you care about that?" Yerim questions.

"Why don't you care about that?" Haseul fires back. "Competition matters, Yerim. If you don't like it, _leave_."

Yerim looks stunned and Haseul sees tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

"Wait, Yerim, I'm sorry." she says, skating closer to the younger girl. "I didn't mean it that way, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Yerim says.

"Come here," Haseul says, and embraces the younger girl. "I'm sorry. I was rude. You're a really amazing skater, Yerim. We don't have to try that."

Yerim pulls away and wipes her face with her sleeve. "No." she says.

"No?"

"No, you're right." Yerim says, a whole new resolve on her face. "Let's do it."

Haseul smiles softly. "Really?"

"Yeah." Yerim says. "Let's do it."

Haseul holds her hand up for a high five and Yerim smacks her palm in return.

-

The first thing Haseul notices during the practice in Beijing at the Cup of China is that Jung Jinsol has a triple lutz-triple loop combination, and she executes it mercilessly.

Jinsol is an ice princess, with bleached blonde hair and an illuminated face. Her hair is tied in a high ponytail and she has an aloof expression on her face. Her edges are sharp and clean and precise, and it's as if everything has been calculated for her. Haseul feels bad for not studying Yerim's competitors, and she tears her eyes away from Jinsol to focus on Yerim.

Yerim is running through her program, skipping her solo triple lutz to take a break so she doesn't wear herself out, and then she's off again, but this time, she's not doing triple loop-triple loop, no, she's doing triple flip-triple loop as her combination jump. Haseul catches a pleased smile on her face as she does her step sequence, and she then finishes her runthrough, skipping her final spin not to overwork her back. She then excitedly skates over to Haseul, with a pleased expression on her face.

"Did you see that?!" she exclaims.

Haseul is taken aback, but at least she doesn't have to worry about Yerim doing the combination with no prior experience, like Yeojin had with the quad toeloop that one time. So, instead, Haseul smiles.

"Yeah." she says. "Good job, Yerim."

"Honestly, I was only doing it because Jung Jinsol has triple lutz-triple loop, but still, I did it!" Yerim is complete sunshine, Haseul can't help but smile, and she squeezes Yerim's hands.

"It's your choice whether you want to do it in the short," Haseul finds herself saying. It's a bit yolo for her to say, but she wants Yerim to have the success.

"Really?" Yerim asks.

"Yeah." Haseul says.

"Okay." Yerim says, and the smile she shoots Haseul is just too innocent, Haseul can't help but smile back.

Yerim skates away, and Haseul watches her practice triple flip-triple loop, each time coming back to Haseul for advice on how to improve it despite Haseul having never jumped it before.

-

The short program comes too soon, and Haseul is unsure what Yerim actually plans to jump. Yerim's slotted fifth to skate, in the first group, and Haseul watches her still practice triple flip-triple loop in the warmup, but also practicing triple loop-triple loop. She doesn't know what Yerim's going to jump, and Yerim doesn't talk to her during the duration that she's waiting to skate.

The skater currently in first after the third skater only has a 61.59, so Haseul has hope for Yerim. She's nervous, yes, on behalf of her student, but she watches Yerim skate around the edge of the rink while the replay plays, her eyes forced on Yerim's form and her edges, not even paying attention to the score the fourth skater gets. She doesn't even remember who that is, she's too preoccupied on Yerim.

She wonders if Yeojin's watching, staying at their parents' house, on her computer screen. It was mid-afternoon in China, so it would be mid-afternoon or early evening in Seoul, too, Haseul thinks as she runs the time conversion in her head.

_"Next to skate, representing the Republic of Korea, Choi Yerim!"_


	5. five - yerim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yerim tackles the Cup of China, facing a new competitor in Jung Jinsol.

Yerim doesn't have time for articles.

She skates around the arena to the soft Debussy, imagining herself as a faery flying around a misty grotto. She jumps her double axel, and smiles as she cleanly glides out of the landing, free leg kicked high behind her back. Transitioning across the ice, she crossovers and then jumps into her flying sit spin, one leg bent, the other sticking out in front of her. She switches position into the broken leg position, same leg bent, the other one bent outside as Yerim's hand extends into the air. She then finally spins into her last spin position, second leg curled around the first, with a turtle-ish back sticking into the air.

After that is the solo triple lutz, which she brings her arms above her head for in the Rippon position, before skating and jumping into her combination spin. First is the camel position, leg extended at a ninety degree angle with her other leg, before she brings it behind her head, bending backwards for the circular "donut" position. She then switches the foot she's spinning on, spinning upright, leg extended in front of her, bringing it up above her head, parallel to her torso. She clutches onto the boot and tries not to grimace.

Then, triple flip-triple loop. Yerim doesn't have time to choose to just do the loop, so she grits her teeth and just stabs the toepick into the ice. Up and up, and she doesn't have time to do a toeloop, no, she just jumps up, second-guessing her choice to not stick with her normal combination. And maybe that's what'll be her downfall. Her second-guessing herself.

The landing makes her wince; it's hard and her leg goes up and she doesn't really move on the landing. So Yerim just skates out of it and moves on.

Her step sequence goes without fault, yes, the edges could be deeper, but it is acceptable. Then Yerim is going into her last spin, bringing her leg up, over her head, as radiant as she can be, despite her earlier failure. That'll get her minus points on the grade of execution for the combination, and Yerim is disappointed, to say the least, when she finishes. But she manages to smile and be sunny as she bows to the politely clapping crowd.

She skates off to Haseul, who gives her her skate guards to put on. She hopes Yeojin hadn't watched that.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Haseul says as they walk to the kiss-and-cry. "That was your first time trying it in competition. That stuff's scary." She pats Yerim's back reassuringly.

"You're right," Yerim responds. "You're always right."

Haseul doesn't respond, but Yerim sees in her eyes that she disagrees.

The kiss-and-cry is oddly silent, but Yerim still says her hellos to her family on the screen, but this time she omits Yeojin. She knows Yeojin probably feels weird about her, especially after Skate America a month ago. She doesn't want to call out one of her competitors, either. Not when her placement might actually matter.

"The scores, please."

Yerim sighs.

"Choi Yerim has earned, in the short program, 71.35. She is currently in first place."

"That's not bad." Haseul says. "That's over seventy, that's good. That's better than most people here. Don't put yourself down."

Yerim nods. "You're right."

Haseul pats her back, and they get up to leave the kiss-and-cry.

-

Jung Jinsol beats her in the short program by almost ten points, ending with an 80.13. Yerim stays in second after Jinsol's score trumps hers for the duration of the short program, and after the event finishes, Jinsol approaches her as they pack up and leave.

"Hey." Jinsol greets in Korean.

"Hello," Yerim replies warily. She doesn't think she's supposed to talk to competitors, but it doesn't really matter.

"You're really good," Jinsol comments. "Shame on your landing. You'll get better at it with practice," she says somewhat cryptically, and then leaves.

-

**JUNG JINSOL TAKES CUP OF CHINA TITLE, CHOI YERIM NOT FAR BEHIND**

_After the short program, Jung Jinsol had a lead of almost 9 points ahead of Choi Yerim. Choi had a shaking landing on one of her jumping passes, putting her much behind Jung. But in the free, a lot changed. Choi took the free with a score of 145.29, whereas Jung had some issues with her jumping passes and ended up with a 138.25, seven points behind Choi. However, the lead from the short program aided Jung in her victory, and she finished her Grand Prix qualification with 30 points total. Choi ended up with 26 total points, and is also confirmed to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. When asked about it, Choi said she was "shocked, but really happy"._

_"I never even made it to the Junior Grand Prix Final, but here I am. I'm very happy to see what goes on." Choi said._

_We asked Choi about her attempted triple flip-triple loop in the short program, which earned negative GOE and was not attempted in the free, Choi said, "It was an attempt. I learned that I need to practice it more before I try it again in competition."_

_Choi plans on skating at the Tallin Trophy in Estonia before her Grand Prix Final debut._

_Jung Jinsol, last season's Grand Prix Final silver medalist who also placed fourth at the World Championships, when asked, said that she was "happy [her] qualification is over with lots of time to spare for practice and preparation."_

_"I'm glad that I can also spend time studying my competitors that I might not have had a chance to compete with yet." she also said, with an unreadable expression on her face._

_The Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating is from December 5-8 in Zagreb, Croatia._

_Recommended articles:_

_\- JUNG JINSOL EXPLAINS MORE ABOUT HER EMOTIONAL FREE PROGRAM SET TO "LET ME OUT" BY THE LATE SINGER JONGHYUN_

_\- KIM JUNGEUN EXPECTED TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER SURPRISING SECOND PLACE AT SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL_

_\- IM YEOJIN RELEASES VIDEO OF HER LANDING QUAD SALCHOW, SPARKING CONTROVERSY UPON FANS_

"Why do you read those?"

Yerim turns around and sees Yeojin, peering over her shoulder.

"Oh! Um, hi, Yeojin." she says.

"Hi." Yeojin says. "Why do you read those?"

"I just...I don't know." Yerim admits.

"They're so biased. Don't they make you feel bad about yourself?"

"When did you get all moral high ground on me?" Yerim asks slightly teasingly. "Come, sit down." She gestures to the seat across from her, and Yeojin sits down.

"Anyway." Yerim says. "You can't tell me you haven't read any of the articles. They're  _constantly_ praising you."

Yeojin shrugs. "Just...the stuff they say about you is really biased."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just going to have to change that, aren't I?" she says lightly, smiling brightly.

Yeojin laughs. "You're literally the sun."

"And you've gotten more serious. Wait, what the fuck. Don't you have a competition to go to, like, tomorrow?!"

"My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 6. I'm just stopping by here." Yeojin explains, and holds up a cookie in a bag.

"Don't you have to pack and stuff?!" Yerim exclaims. "Go! You can text me when you land in Moscow or whatever."

"Aww, you remembered." Yeojin teases. "Bye, Yerim. It was nice talking to you. Watch my competition?"

"Of course," Yerim says, and smiles as she watches Yeojin leave the cafe.

Before leaving herself, Yerim checks the ISU Results page to see the schedule. She frowns, seeing the ladies' short program at 8 PM on Friday night, and at 7:30 on Saturday night. She looks up the time difference and sighs.

Looks like she'll be up at midnight to watch her friend. She owes it to her.


	6. six - jungeun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kim Jungeun is not a worrier, but today she is nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the lack of updates!! :( i'll work on updating more frequently <3
> 
> also i just think kim lip having a lip is the best thing ever

Kim Jungeun is not a worrier, but seeing Im Yeojin hammer triple axels out during practice makes her nervous.

Maybe it was arrogant of her to think that she could easily take gold looking at the Rostelecom Cup lineup, but at the time, Im Yeojin was just the world silver medalist with scores that didn't even measure up to Jungeun's. At the time, Yeojin's personal best score was fifteen points behind Jungeun's, so the older woman wasn't even worrying.

But now, with Yeojin threatening the precious Korean records set by Yuna Kim, Jungeun is nervous.

Yuna Kim was Jungeun's idol, to put it simply. When Jungeun was five, she had watched the Winter Olympics and something in Yuna Kim's skating set her off, and fifteen years later, she would still watch those videos from the Winter Olympics, and she'd still be in the same amount of awe seeing Yuna's textbook jumps. She wanted to be like Yuna Kim, but Jungeun knew she probably wouldn't ever reach anything near Yuna Kim. It disappointed her that she wasn't going to ever be close to her idol, but that was life, she supposed. Idols were idols for a reason, they weren't for you to ever reach.

Jungeun knows she can't focus on her competitors; this is one of the worst things you could do as a professional athlete. So she shakes her head and continues running through her program.

Jungeun's short program is to River Flows In You, which she knows is a warhorse, and overused, but Jungeun personally liked the music, and it was honestly easy to choreograph to. She trains with Jinsol under Jaden Jeong, who also happens to be their choreographer. Jungeun and Jinsol are good friends, and they tend to post videos of them doing side-by-side jumps. The most popular one was during an ice show group finale where they did side-by-side triple lutz-triple toeloop combinations. She remembered getting thousands of views on that Instagram post.

"Jungeun."

Jungeun turns her head towards Jaden, who beckons her over. She skates over unceremoniously.

"You seem distracted." he comments.

"Is it that obvious?" she replies.

"Yes. You can't worry about this right now. You have to focus, Jungeun."

"I know..." Jungeun mutters. She takes a sip of water and sighs seeing Yeojin land another triple axel.

-

It is not six hours later when Jungeun finds herself back at the rink.

The practice is out of her mind now, no, now she's only focused. Jaden was correct, Jungeun can't worry about her competitors. She's eighth to skate out of the twelve of them, so she'll have a good basis on what score she needs, but otherwise, Jungeun feels totally prepared. She's confident in her jumps and her memorization of her program, having performed it oh so many times. She's warming up, doing jump rope and stretches, waiting for her practice group to be remotely ready. She hasn't put her skates on yet. The first skater is out. Seven more until Jungeun, plus the ice resurfacing time she'll use to put her skates on. She's glad she's not in the first group.

Jungeun knows it's midmorning for Jinsol, and, stupidly, she hopes her friend is watching her. Jinsol had said in an interview that she wanted to study on her possible GP Final-mates, but did Jungeun count? Jinsol already knew her so well.

She groans aloud at herself. She can't focus on her competitors, she must only focus on herself. She must ignore her competitors' scores. And, most of all, she must  _not_ think of Im Yeojin.

Roughly an hour later, Jungeun is skating around the rink while the slowmo of the last girl's skate plays on the big screen above. She doesn't know what happened, and, frankly, she doesn't care. She doesn't know what score she needs to get, all she knows is that she needs to do well.

_"The scores, please,"_ the announcer says with a Russian accent. Jungeun skates over to Jaden for some last-minute advice.

"Okay, Jungeun, just remember, elements. Jumps. Spins. You have this down. You'll do great, okay? Just think about the music."

Jungeun nods, slightly more upbeat than she had been all day. "I'm going to kick ass," she says, confidently. 

"Great attitude. Go get it," he says, before waving her off. She totally missed the other girl's score.

_"Next to skate, representing the Republic of Korea, Jungeun Kim."_ the announcer first says in Russian, then says in English. Jungeun takes off, doing a lap before waving to the crowd, skating to center ice, getting into her starting position.

The music begins playing, and Jungeun is in her element. She knows the choreography, she knows it all. It's just three minutes, it's not that long.

Before long, she's jumping her combination: triple lutz-triple toe. It goes off without a hitch, but Jungeun doesn't focus on that. She's always been pretty consistent, it's not surprising to her that she's doing well.

She does her double axel, which has always been her weakest jump that she actively practiced (edge jumps were never really Jungeun's thing), but she lands it cleanly, although some ice sprays up with the landing. Jungeun always had good technique, except on her flip jump. There was a reason why her flip wasn't ever really in the program: her edge was always wrong on it, so it became more like a lip (a flip with an incorrect outside edge, which was  _always_ given negative grade of execution), but Jungeun's lutz was good, and a good lutz meant good points.

Jungeun jumps into her flying camel spin, leg extended, hands clasped behind her back. She is parallel to the ice, so when she bends into the donut position, it's almost like a sideways haircutter spin. She then rotates upright, where her hand is over her head, grasping the blade of her skate, leg up in the air crossing diagonally over her back, spinning.

Then she's into the step sequence, turning and twizzling in a complicated sequence all over the ice. Jungeun's step sequence has great ice coverage, and she loves her twizzle into the three turns into the triple loop at the very end, leg kicked up for dramatic effect. Only two more spins to go, then the program is over with.

Jungeun's change foot combination spin starts in a camel position, then with the Yuna position that Jungeun does, of course, in honor of her idol, down into a bent position with her leg sticking out, arms sticking out too. She switches feet and is doing a sit spin, then with the broken leg position, into a pancake position.

Before her last spin, the choreo is dramatic and edgy, and Jungeun pitches forward over into a Charlotte spiral, free leg kicked high in the air, basically in the splits, torso upside down. She doesn't hold the spiral for long, and then she's going into her final spin, the layback spin. The layback spin is strenuous on Jungeun's back, especially the final Biellmann position.

And it's over as quickly as it began.

Jungeun's reasonably proud when it ends, her program was good but not great, clean but not perfect. She doesn't know how it'll score. She doesn't know the score she needs. But she puts on her skate guards and walks over to the kiss-and-cry with Jaden, him rehashing her program and her just nodding along and listening, watching him point things out on the screen as they happen. Jungeun doesn't find it in herself to disagree with him.

_"The scores, please."_

Jungeun looks at the screen where her score and protocols would be put, crossing her fingers and biting her tongue.

_"Jungeun Kim has earned, in the short program, 73.61 points."_

It's not a bad score at all, but the announcement everyone is waiting for is the placement.

_"This puts her currently into second place."_

"Damn," she says to herself, yet out loud, unable to hide her disappointment. She sees the listing of the scores, and she's in second by a lot, but behind Yeojin by 4 points. So the younger girl did land her triple axel.

Does she have a limit? Because Yeojin has been incredibly consistent ever since she broke out that triple axel, so does she have a limit? Is there a way Jungeun could beat her without doing a triple axel herself? It didn't seem like it. 

Jungeun isn't Jinsol, after all.

-

Nana Nakagawa from Japan ends up actually beating both of them in the short program with a clean, perfect program to Clair de Lune, and Jungeun can't say she's surprised. Nana Nakagawa won Skate Canada, after all, and she beat Jungeun, too. Nana is the picture of consistency, after all, she is last year's world champion.

Jungeun had talked to Nana a couple of times (she hadn't made it to Worlds last season, Jennie Kim was chosen over her), and she couldn't find it in herself to hate her, or even dislike her. Nana was lovely, and sweet, and kind, and Jungeun just wished she was dislikable. Maybe that made Jungeun a shitty person, but she always feels like she's running to catch up, and everyone ahead of her is more likeable than her.

"You have to focus, Jungeun."

She holds her phone to her ear, listening to Jaden, who sounds annoyed.

"Jungeun, seriously. I can't have you spacing out on me. What's with you now? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Jungeun protests, like a teenager fighting with their parents.

"Look, you don't have much time before the free." Jaden says honestly. "If you can't get your act together, you won't prosper. You can't hope other people make mistakes when you don't live up to what you're supposed to be."

The words hit Jungeun hard and she abruptly hangs up the call. It takes her right back to last year's Nationals, when there were two spots to be fought over, one Jinsol was 100% going to get. The battle was between Jungeun and now-retired Jennie Kim. Jinsol was perfect, of course, right when she needed to be (although that didn't end up happening during Worlds), and Jennie and Jungeun were pretty close after the short program, only half a point separating second and third. The free skate made all the difference, and Jungeun went before Jennie, and she feels to this day that that was the reason why she lost.

Jungeun was out of focus then, too, completely overcame with nerves. She wasn't normally like that, no, but of course, it ended up being like that on one of the most important days of her life. And those nerves got to her during her free skate. On Jungeun's first jump, a solo triple lutz, she fell.

Her program was clean after that, clean but not perfect, and her score was good enough to keep her in second after Jinsol, but Jennie was the last to skate, and Jungeun wasn't confident that she would retain her second placement.

So, like a shitty person, she hoped Jennie failed. She didn't want her to fall or anything, she didn't want Jennie to be injured, she didn't even want her to make technical mistakes, she just wanted Jennie to be  _not as good as her_ , despite Jungeun's costly mistake. But, in the end, Jennie prevailed, skating clean, and taking second place. She was sent to Worlds, and retired shortly after that, which had angered Jungeun, although she understood why. One last hurrah before retirement. Like all those skaters who retired after the Olympics, which Jungeun was hardly sure she was going to get to, despite it being only next season..

Kim Jungeun never considered herself a worrier, but maybe she was a liar.


	7. seven - yeojin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im Yeojin qualifies.

**TEEN PRODIGY IM YEOJIN QUALIFIES TO GRAND PRIX FINAL IN RUSSIA**

_It was certainly a close race, but in the end, Im Yeojin beat Nana Nakagawa of Japan out for the Rostelecom Cup title. She earned a total score of 213.21, whereas Nakagawa earned a 211.42. Kim Jungeun, also from South Korea like Im, snagged third place with a total score of 208.73._

_Both women had good, clean skates, but Im's technical powerhouse of a free skate beat Nakagawa's more well-rounded, artistic skate, without the technical content to match up to it. Nakagawa's jumps were also not as perfect, and did not receive very high GOE (Grade of Execution) on them, with some being underrotated as well. Im's triple axel in the free program was deemed underrotated, and she had a shaky landing on it as well, not receiving positive GOE. However, the attempt still earned more points than Nakagawa's double axel, which received positive GOE._

_Kim had a shaky free skate as well, but it was enough to keep her in third. She ended up receiving better combined scores than Miranda Bradley of Canada at her events, and thus qualified to the Grand Prix Final despite earning the same amount of qualification points as Bradley._

_The final qualifiers for the Grand Prix Final in Zagreb, Croatia, are such:_

_30 points: IM, Yeojin [KOR] (1st, Skate America & 1st, Rostelecom Cup), JUNG, Jinsol [KOR] (1st, Internationaux de France & 1st, Cup of China)_

_28 points: NAKAGAWA, Nana [JPN] (1st, Skate Canada International & 2nd, Rostelecom Cup)_

_26 points: SEFERIAN, Jackie [USA] (1st, NHK Trophy & 3rd, Skate America), CHOI, Yerim [KOR] (2nd, Skate America & 2nd, Cup of China)_

_24 points: KIM, Jungeun [KOR] (2nd, Skate Canada International & 3rd, Rostelecom Cup)_

_The reserves will be BRADLEY, Miranda [CAN], SOKOLOVA, Anna [RUS], and JOHNSON, Ivanka [USA], in that order._

Yeojin, lucking into the last GP assignment, only has a week to prepare herself for the Grand Prix Final. However, she's not on ice right now, instead, she's doing modern dance with Heejin and Hyunjin. It's kind of a mess, because they're all trying to film a video for Instagram of the three of them dancing in sync, but it's not really working because Hyunjin keeps barking like a dog randomly, and Heejin keeps busting up into laughter because of it, causing Yeojin to bust into laughter and them all to mess up the dance.

"Let's take a break," Heejin suggests, out of breath from laughing. Yeojin goes over to her duffel bag and takes out her phone, and sees three messages from Haseul.

_Haseul: Hey!_ _I know you're at dance practice rn but I feel like we haven't really had any sister time recently since you left._

_Haseul: Would you want to go see a movie tonight? You can pick, I don't care. It can be a garbage comedy if you want. I'm putting my foot down for Adam Sandler, though_

_Haseul: We could get dinner before/after if you wanted_

Yeojin smiles to herself. She's glad Haseul's approached her like this, things between the two had been weird and strained since Yeojin's awkward leaving, and they'd never really hashed it out. Their parents weren't ever home, both working in travel, so frequently on business trips.

She replies to the text with fervor.

_lil yeoyeo: bet lets do it i wanna see spiderman_

_lil yeoyeo: also u kno id never turn down u buying me food sooooo_

_lil yeoyeo: ok but seriously that sounds fun :DDD_

Haseul replies with a rolling eyes emoji in response to Yeojin's second reply.

_Haseul: I should never have offered food, huh?_

_Haseul: Well, can't take it back now lol_

_Haseul: I'll pick you up after practice and we can decide more, ok?_

_lil yeoyeo: letsgooooooo_

Yeojin puts her phone away and turns back to Heejin and Hyunjin.

"I want this video filmed and posted before practice ends today!" she announces. Her immature, young voice doesn't intimidate either of her coaches, who stare at her with bemused expressions.

"Alright, let's do it!" Heejin says.

Hyunjin merely raises her eyebrows with a cocky smirk on her face.

The three eventually get the video filmed before returning to regular dance practice, working on having sharp movements and working on basic extensions as well. Although modern dance was more fun than classical ballet (especially according to Hyunjin), their dance teacher, Svetlana, still helped them work on parts of dance that would benefit them in skating, as well as improving the artistic component of Yeojin's scores, since those weren't very high.

"Point your toes!" Svetlana reprimands. She speaks heavily accented English, which Heejin, Hyunjin, and Yeojin are all various levels of proficient at. Yeojin is the worst at it for sure, Heejin is relatively okay (she can say things like "how are you" and "what's your name") and Hyunjin is surprisingly decent, but Svetlana repeats the same advice in English, so Yeojin knows what certain things like "point your toes" and "floppy arms", and she and Sveta communicate relatively well.

Yeojin points her toes.

"Good, good." Svetlana murmurs, checking on Yeojin's form. "Your shoulders..." she mutters, and pushes Yeojin's shoulders down. "They're hunched." she says harshly, and imitates Yeojin's shoulders. "Ugly." She shakes her head and then leaves Yeojin. "Good, Heejin!" Svetlana refers to Heejin affectionately. Heejin's just her favorite, despite Hyunjin being a better dancer. Hyunjin is dry and sarcastic, which doesn't mesh super well with Svetlana's tendency to take everything seriously.

Dance practice ends and Yeojin waits for Haseul to roll up in her car. She denies Heejin and Hyunjin's offers to drive her home and waits in the cold November wind.

Haseul doesn't take super long to arrive and honks as soon as she pulls up. Yeojin picks up her bag and opens the passenger door, putting her bag at her feet.

"Hey! How was practice?" Haseul asks.

"It was okay," Yeojin answers. "Hyunjin kept barking."

"...barking?"

"Yeah, like a dog."

Haseul laughs. "Really? That's...interesting." she comments.

"Yeah, I know. Can we get-"

"-ramen?" Haseul finishes her sentence with her.

"Uh, yeah, how'd you know?"

Haseul sounds a little hurt, but she tries to mask it. "I'm your sister," she says quietly.

The rest of the car ride to the ramen place is silent, suddenly tense again. The only small talk they make in the restaurant is about the food they're ordering, but otherwise, Yeojin is on her phone, and Haseul is staring out the window.

They'd never really gotten closure. Haseul had just told Yeojin that she couldn't coach her, without reason, but Yeojin already knew what she meant, and merely responded with an "Alright." It was that night when she emailed Heejin and Hyunjin, and, not long after, made the switch official.

She wondered if Haseul still watched her performances.

The movie is quiet, the theater pretty empty, and Yeojin just eats popcorn silently. It's a good movie, but the lack of reaction from Haseul, who's usually very reactive during movies, dampens the mood, and they go home with that same, awkward silence. Haseul parks in the driveway, but she doesn't get out, and she doesn't look at Yeojin.

"Are you mad at me?" Haseul asks, out of the blue. "Be honest."

Yeojin shakes her head, but realizes Haseul isn't looking at her. "No, I'm not mad at you, I just don't understand why you dumped the split on me like that." she says defensively.

"I can't coach someone I don't know how to control!" Haseul exclaims. "I'm sorry, I just can't! I can't coach someone who won't listen to me." she says, her voice soft on the last few words.

Yeojin stares out at the house in front of her, unsure of how to respond. She finally lets out an "...oh."

"But it's fine now," Haseul says hurriedly. "You're with Heejin and Hyunjin, and everything is fine now, and you're kicking ass. That's all that matters, right? You don't need me. You don't need anyone. _I_ don't need anyone." Her words are spoken fast and with emotion and panic to them. The last sentence sounds more like her trying to convince herself.

"What about Yerim?" Yeojin asks quietly.

"Yerim... Yerim is lonely. But she doesn't need me." Haseul says, with a slight edge to her voice, before getting out of the car and slamming the door closed. She walks very quickly to the house and closes the door behind her.

Yeojin sits in the car, tears welling up in her eyes. She feels terrible, now, was it all her fault? Haseul sure made her feel that way.

She closes the door behind her and hears the beep of the car locking. She goes into the house, drops her bag off at the front porch, and goes up to the bathroom. Haseul's bedroom door is closed.

Yeojin washes her face and looks at herself in the mirror. She doesn't have eyebags, thankfully, but even she can notice how stressed she looks.

She goes to bed later than usual, unable to actually fall asleep.

-

Yeojin flies to Croatia with her sister and Yerim and pretends to sleep for the whole duration of the eleven hour flight. She only gets up once to use the bathroom, but, otherwise, she pretends to sleep and sometimes actually sleeps, sometimes listening to music. They're not supposed to actually compete for four days because of the junior programs being slotted before them, but they still arrive on time for practices and et cetera.

Yeojin is strangely distant while they settle into the hotel, she stays with Haseul, but the two don't talk, no, they try their best to avoid each other in the tiny hotel room.

During practice Yeojin finds herself totally off with the triple axel; she keeps falling or underrotating it, errors that aren't normal for her.

"Hey, let's take a breather." Heejin says once she stops at the boards.

"What's going on?" Hyunjin asks. "You're never like this. Is it because of Haseul?"

"Don't say her name too loudly!" Yeojin hisses.

"Oh, you're nervous."

Yeojin nods frantically. She can't bring it to herself to speak.

"Look, Yeojin, you have to ignore her. Ignore Yerim. Okay? It's only you and the ice, alright?"

Yeojin nods, still unsure.

_It's just me and the ice._

She keeps this mentality until the short program, where she is slotted fifth to skate. She ignores the scores, not knowing exactly what she needs to place high. Everything that's in Yeojin's mind is simply to just do the elements, and do them right.

_"Next to skate, representing the Republic of Korea, Yeojin Im."_

Yeojin skates out and gets into her starting position. She waits for the music to start, and then she starts skating. She knows this program. She can do it right.

But she hesitates before jumping the triple axel, and she knows something's off while she's in the air.

She lands on the back of her blade and falls backwards right onto her butt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> svetlana is NOT lana btw it's just a filler name!!
> 
> i'm so sorry this was so short :( i'll try and write a longer one next time


End file.
